Which to use
“intenso” is an adjective and “intenté” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,119
- “intenso” frequency rank
- #10,516
- “intenté” frequency rank
- 15635
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intenso | intenté |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que tiene o se hace con intensidad. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de intentar. |
Where the eye mixes intenso and intenté
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intenso with intenté
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intenso is [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽnso] while intenté is [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intenso is recorded at frequency rank #5,119, classified as anadj, pronounced [ĩn̪ˈt̪ẽnso]. intenté is at rank #10,516, tagged as averb, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽn̪ˈt̪e].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 15635, this pair ranks #279,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intenso vs intenté
Shared letters: eint. Private to "intenso": os. Private to "intenté": é.
"intenso" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "intenté" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- intenso ← inetnso · inntenso · intennso · intenos · intensso · intesno · intneso · inttenso
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intenso" and "intenté" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "intenso" or "intenté" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "intenso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intenté" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intenso" and "intenté" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intenté vs inventen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #279,368 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.